Phantasy Star Online: Blue Requiem
by Ryuretsu
Summary: The government is funding a suspicious organization to build a settlement on Ragol.
1. Just a Game

Phantasy Star Online: Blue Requiem By Ryuretsu  
  
Chapter One: Just a Game  
  
Her slender fingers wrapped around the playing piece, Rouge let out a defeated sigh. If she were to move the pawn to the left, her king would be in check, if she moved the piece to the right, her king would be in a checkmate. To move it up or down would also be pointless, due to it being unable to block the rook from checking her king. She took a quick look at her other pieces, two other pawns (nowhere near the action), a knight, a bishop and the king. She took her left hand, ran its fingers through her long, glamorous red hair, and let out another sigh. She was trapped. Any move she made either screwed her or just delayed the inevitable.  
  
Her partner and chess opponent, Daisuke, looked up at her with his silent and emotionless eyes. The android's reflective, blue chrome forehead reflected her sorrowful face well and reminded Rouge just how pitiful she looked right now. As she gazed into his eyes or optics, as was the technical term, she realized she was keeping him waiting. In defeat she threw up her arms and proclaimed defeat.  
  
"Oh.?" Daisuke proclaimed, a little too surprised for Rouge's taste, ".that's it?"  
  
Rouge raised an eyebrow at him, "That's it? What do you mean, 'that's it'?"  
  
Daisuke gave her a slight shrug, "Well, if you were to move the bishop here and take my rook; you could have forced me to move another piece to protect my king. This would clear the way for you to move your knight into a position to take my king and.", he stopped as he saw Rouge starting to lean in intently.  
  
"You're telling me you didn't see that?" he asked politely.  
  
The female humanoid gave the android a quizzical look, then looked down at the board, then back to the android, then once more at the board till she looked up again and said plainly, "You cheated."  
  
Daisuke's optics flared in shock as though such a thing were impossible, "H- How did I cheat? All I did was tell you how you could've won!"  
  
Rouge crossed her arms, "It doesn't matter, I never started to lose till I began to play you."  
  
Daisuke leaned back in his chair and put his hand up to his face and gave a sigh, or at least the robot equivalent of one.  
  
"Maybe you're just getting worse?"  
  
Rouge glared.  
  
"Careless?"  
  
Glare.  
  
"Your opponent is exceptional?"  
  
Glare.  
  
Daisuke pulled his hand down from his face and rested it in his lap with his other hand. Humans could be so impossible and unpredictable that it was just mind numbing. But then again, they did prove useful with their cunning/recklessness.  
  
"Miss Rouge, you just said you were bored and I only offered to play a simple game with you. No need to get emotional about it, right?" Daisuke asked with a shrug.  
  
The red haired human gave a very unlady-like grunt in reply.  
  
"Do you want to take a look at the jobs the guild is offering instead of continuing this? They're might be something of interest." Daisuke suggested  
  
Rouge sighed, looked at the chess board then quietly nodded her head and stood up. As she stood up, Daisuke made a mental note to let her win the next time.  
  
With their game finished, Daisuke and Rouge quietly walked out of their small apartment complex and into the bright neon lights of the small city on board the Pioneer II. The Pioneer II, an intergalactic colonization ship, was created out of desperation in the Pioneer Project. This project was concocted so as to evacuate the inhabitants of a dying planet and to have them rebuild on a distant new world. The first part of this project was to send out unmanned space probes to find a suitable world for the soon to-be planet-less inhabitants. Once a suitable world was discovered, the Pioneer I, another intergalactic space ship was to be sent out with the first wave of colonist to settle the planet and setup the Central Dome. After this step was finished, the Pioneer II along with the main wave of refugees would be sent to further settle the planet and finish the project.  
  
After it was approved, the Pioneer Project was put into effect immediately. Thousands of probes were scattered across the galaxy discovering many habitable and uninhabitable worlds. However, the one that stood out the most was the planet Ragol with its lush vegetation and beautiful tropic regions. After a long debate, Ragol was deemed to be their new home. With this decided, the Pioneer I was constructed and blasted off the face of their dying planet with a meager percentile of their population to ready their new home. After years of waiting, the ship arrived at Ragol and began construction of the Central Dome immediately. When it was completed the former home world was alerted and construction of the Pioneer II began. Once it was finished, the remaining population boarded and abandoned their planet just as the lasts of its forests became deserts and its seas to beds of rock.  
  
It took a long seven years, but Pioneer II finally made its way to Ragol. The inhabitants onboard rejoiced as Ragol entered the ship's windows in all its glory. However, once a communications link was established with Pioneer I, a very odd thing happened. A tremendous explosion shook the planet. As the blast ended, Central Dome was in ruins, and all communication had been cut off with thousands of men and women onboard the Pioneer I. All that remained on Ragol's surface were the ruins of the Pioneer I and horrendous monsters and mutants of unknown origin.  
  
With the public in a panicked frenzy, the government began issuing the Hunter's Guild permission to send down their agents, Hunters, to the surface to investigate. Daisuke and Rouge are both three-year veterans of the Guild. The Guild classifies their Hunters into three different categories: Hunters, Rangers and Forces. Hunters, being melee class agents, excelling in martial arts and close range combat. Rangers are long- range weapon experts and snipers. The last category of hunters, Force, is something else entirely however. Forces, in layman's terms, are magicians; using 'technique disks', they are able to acquire the knowledge to control various elements such as fire, ice and lightning. With these disks they form various spells that can either save a life by healing one's wounds or even end a life. However, Forces are not the only ones who can use these disks. Hunters and Rangers both can use technique disks (assuming they're not robots, spiritual energy, which robots don't have, is needed to form the spells), but cannot use them as effectively as Forces. Forces are trained exclusively in this field; therefore they completely outclass almost any other non-Force hunter.  
  
In general, all categories of hunters are simply called, hunters. Daisuke, the android, is a HUcast type Hunter, meaning he is a Male (as far as machines go) Android of the Hunter classification. Rouge on the other hand is a RAmarl, meaning she is a Female Human of the Ranger classification. Though neither famously well known nor infamously, both are exceptional in their fields of expertise and have completed a large list of cases together.  
  
As the two hunters walked through the streets, the various sounds of the city filled their ears. People finally beginning to come to terms with the situation talked and gabbed, various vehicles floated and whizzed by overhead; the sounds of life and of modern civilization. It brought a smile to Rouge's face; people were finally beginning to become themselves again and resume their lives. For three months after the explosion, almost everyone onboard Pioneer 2 was too afraid to come out of their homes. But now. Now everyone was alive again, they were a people, a culture.  
  
The Guild building came into view as they turned the corner. As they stepped up to the door, a mechanized whooshing noise occurred and the door split in two and gracefully slid off to either side, welcoming the two returning hunters in. As they entered the Guild lobby, hunters of all shapes and sizes talked and traded stories of battle and of home. Others sat on the couches and chairs and rested their eyes after a long and tiring mission. But no matter what they were doing, they were all busy and were all doing their jobs: Trying to make the best out of a bad situation and to carve a new home out of Ragol.  
  
As the two trudged through the crowd of hunters to the front desk and the waiting Guild Official, Daisuke wondered curiously as to what kind of job they'd receive. The Hunters Guild was pretty much a guild that accepted any and all jobs, well, so long as they were given the proper amount of meseta, the currency used aboard the Pioneer II. Jobs ranged from picking up the groceries for a senior citizen to the protection of important surveyors through the wilderness of Ragol. All jobs were classified into various levels determined by difficulty and pay: S, A, B, C, D. S being the most difficult and D being the easiest but the lowest paying.  
  
However, a hunter must have completed a certain amount of each mission type before being able to perform a job of a higher level. This was done so as to lower hunter causalities and to prevent green hunters from attempting S rank missions and having their lives wasted. As one would guess, any hunter was allowed to do a D rank mission. Next, a hunter who has completed ten or so D ranked missions was allowed to perform C rank missions. A hunter who had completed twenty C rank missions was then permitted to do perform B rank missions. Then once the hunter completed fifty B rank missions, he was then allowed to move on to the A rank missions. And finally, once they completed one hundred A rank missions, they could move on to the more difficult S rank missions. Both Daisuke and Rouge were C rank, soon to be B, hunters.  
  
"Hello and welcome to the Hunter's Guild. How may I help you two?" Asked the Guild official when they got to the counter.  
  
"Hunter C Rank Daisuke and Ranger C Rank Rouge, we're wondering about something to do to pass the time." Proclaimed Daisuke, trying to get a smile from the official.  
  
The official, a woman in her late twenties at least, had a healthy head of short golden, blonde hair and wore a very low cut and revealing light blue top. Her face was covered with a light douse of makeup that made her age seem at least two years younger. She gave a slight smile for Daisuke's attempt at humor.  
  
"Alright then, just let me scan your section Ids for one second and I'll see what I can do." She replied with a smile.  
  
A section ID is very similar to a high school diploma, it is proof of one's successful graduation from a Hunter Academy, a place where a hunter learns his or her skills of the trade. On Pioneer II alone, there are currently nine Hunter Academies, or Sections as they're called. Each Section has its own circular symbol for a type of logo; it's this circular logo that a small, round data disc is embedded with. This data disc is a hunter's section ID when they graduate and is later used as a record for the hunter's past job experience and, as its name states, identification.  
  
To the official's request Daisuke removed his section ID, a Viridia type, from its resting-place in the middle of his breastplate and handed it to the official who promptly scanned and returned it. Once Daisuke's was finished, Rouge unbuttoned hers' from the left strap of her black top and handed the Purplenum type ID to the official. The official did the same and quickly returned it.  
  
The official quickly looked through the assembled information from the section Ids on her monitor. As she glanced through their work history and finally at their ranks for confirmation, she looked at the two and smiled.  
  
"So what sort of job are you looking for?" she asked with a smile.  
  
"Nothing too exciting, just something to take up some time." Replied Daisuke.  
  
The official typed something into her computer system then looked up again, "Would you mind helping the Tinkerbell family find their lost dog for three hundred meseta?" she asked.  
  
Before Daisuke could answer, Rouge quickly spoke up, "Something with a little more relative importance."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"I dunno, doesn't somebody need a bodyguard or anything? Something that might have a little action?"  
  
"Hmm." replied the official as she looked down at her monitor again and typed something else in. The computer made a slight beeping noise that made the official's eyes widen slightly. Rouge and Daisuke leaned forward, curious as to what the computer had displayed.  
  
"You know. I'm probably not supposed to do this, but I guess I can do this just this once. The job I just pulled up is actually a B rank job, but I doubt you two care about that?"  
  
Daisuke just stood and stared, Rouge had a slight gleam in her eyes.  
  
"This job shouldn't be too hard, but it won't be a walk in the park. Currently, the government onboard Pioneer II is getting very jumpy about the current situation. They're afraid that we've wasted too much time and resources floating around the planet and that we should begin colonizing Ragol as soon as possible."  
  
Daisuke's optics flared in surprise, "What in the world are they thinking!? We still don't have a clue as to what happened to Pioneer I! If we're to settle down now, the same might as well happen to us!"  
  
Rouge put a hand on Daisuke's arm to try and quiet him down, some of the other hunters were beginning to stare. Daisuke put his hand to his face for a second and shook his head. Rouge nodded to the officially to continue.  
  
"Ahem, as I was saying. The government has funded the Maxtor Organization with enough money and supplies to begin construction of a small settlement. This job asks for a dozen or so hunters to monitor and protect the construction of this settlement till to the completion of its defense shell. The payment for this job is fifty thousand meseta. Do you want to commit to it?"  
  
Rouge blinked her eyes in disbelief, "Fifty thousand? I don't think I've even heard of A rank jobs going for that much!"  
  
"I don't think I'm supposed to be telling you this, but the government wants to keep this operation very low key for right now. All S Rank jobs catch the attention of a large majority of the populace, very few people except for B rank hunters look at the B rank jobs. It was agreed upon with a small tribute that this job would be rated a B." Daisuke rubbed his fingers on his metallic chin, "So that's it."  
  
Rouge, being about five-six, still a good, almost one and a half feet shorter than the android, looked up at him and asked, "Well what do you think? We might be gone for a good while."  
  
Daisuke pondered the thought for a second then replied, "Fifty thousand is a good deal of money and we have been on dry land as far as good jobs go. We've got nothing better to do, right? And besides, I want to make sure the government doesn't intervene and screw this up."  
  
Rouge wrinkled her nose, "Since when have you cared about what the government did?"  
  
Daisuke shook his head, "Does it matter?" he turned towards the official, "We'll take the job. When do we start?" 


	2. Beret

Phantasy Star Online: Blue Requiem By Ryuretsu  
  
Chapter Two: Beret  
  
The two hunters walked back into their tiny apartment complex. As usual the place was a dump. Empty instant-ramen packets lay here and there, various garments of clothing littered the floor and not to mention piles of Daisuke's 'book collection'. But in disregard of its clutter, the apartment was about moderate in size and held two small bedrooms, a decent sized bathroom, a small kitchen, a decent sized living room, and a 15x15-ft storage room in its lower level.  
  
As they closed the door behind them and entered the living room, Daisuke gave a sigh. He always told himself he'd at least make an ATTEMPT to clean the place up a little if not decorate it with something more than just cheap industrial furniture made out of an even cheaper material. His female companion didn't make things any easier, her constant need to feed, shower and change (not to mention buy more) apparel made things even messier. But no matter how much he complained to himself about his partner's messiness, it would displease him even more to have it go away. Without it's presence, the place would seem messier than it ever was before.  
  
"So what are you planning?" asks Rouge as she pulled out a chair to the table where the two were earlier playing a 'friendly' game of Chess.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Daisuke, not fully grasping the question.  
  
Rouge placed her left elbow down on the table and rested her head in her hand as she looked at him, "I mean, what exactly do you plan on doing with this job? Christ, they're building a settlement, we could be gone for months to even years!"  
  
Daisuke rubbed the back of his chrome head with his hand in a robotic display of embarrassment, "Well, when I heard that the government was moving so quickly, I just couldn't control myself. And besides, it's a lot of money, and maybe while we're taking our little 'vacation' down on Ragol we might be able to figure out just what happened to Pioneer I."  
  
Rouge rubbed her forehead with her opposite hand, "And you have artificial what? Man, just what were you thinking? This won't be some walk in the park! Monsters are all over Ragol, we might be overrun within two minutes of beaming down there!"  
  
"But according to the official, they've been working on this settlement for the past two months and raids only occur every other week and they were very minor ones at that." Daisuke replied in his defense.  
  
"Well whatever," said Rouge as she grabbed her lucky red beret off the table, ".I guess this is a good time for me. I haven't really been doing much for the last few weeks other than playing games with you and watching the vid screen."  
  
This was one reason why Daisuke preferred the company of Rouge compared to others of his own kind and even to those of hers': her personality. No matter what the situation, the young woman always tried to look at it from a positive perspective. Although this side of her never showed whenever she played games. She just couldn't lose with dignity and let it slide. Daisuke gave a robotic chuckle over the thought and came to the conclusion that she just made things more interesting and wins more awarding.  
  
"Oh yeah Daisuke, I think I noticed something pretty interesting when we were at the Guild." Commented Rouge in a very serious tone.  
  
"What's that?" asked Daisuke, obviously interested.  
  
Rouge broke into a big smile, "Were you flirting with the official?"  
  
Daisuke, caught off guard by the question, quickly pushed his body back against the chair. But with the suddenness of the movement, the chair tipped over just as quickly, dragging the android to the ground with it. Rouge bowled over laughing nearly falling out of her chair herself.  
  
"Hahaha! I knew it!" she said in between laughs.  
  
Daisuke gave a groan as he pulled himself and his chair back to their feet, "I don't see what's so funny." he grumbled.  
  
"Boy, you have a lot to learn about women if that's your technique." She lectured him with a laugh.  
  
"I wasn't flirting." mumbled Daisuke with his head down in embarrassment.  
  
Rouge gave him a sympathetic, yet teasing look, "Daisuke, don't worry so much that you were caught. I'm sure all men, android or not, have those. Desires or what not."  
  
"I'm just a machine, I don't have desires." Responded Daisuke dryly.  
  
Rouge's face turned to a somewhat angry expression, "Oh really? Are you saying you don't even have feelings?"  
  
"I don't."  
  
Rouge slammed her fist on the table angrily, "Cut the crap Daisuke!"  
  
This action quickly got the androids attention as he moved his head up and looked at the young woman, "Wh-"  
  
Rouge quickly interrupted him, "For the last two and a half years I've been with you, you've acted more human than most humans do! What the hell do you mean, you don't have desires or feelings?! You're not just some machine, you're a person, you're an individual!"  
  
"But how can I? I was created in a laboratory, a factory even. To most people I'm just a number."  
  
Rouge's left hand, which for the past five minutes had been carrying her beret, quickly balled into a fist and smashed the garment in between her fingers, "What does that have to do with anything? It doesn't matter how you were brought to this world, but what you do when you're in this world!"  
  
Daisuke blinked his optics twice in amazement, why was she so worked up by this? She knew he wasn't a real person, just a mannequin that was programmed to pretend to be real and act like he had a personality.  
  
"Rouge," started Daisuke, "I'm just running a program. Whenever a situation happens I just do what I'm programmed to do. I'll admit it does seem like I make decisions, but all of my decisions are not just something chosen of my own free will. My program looks at all the different actions I can take and just chooses which to select and do." "Isn't that what humans do? Is that not what all the animals in this universe do? We're all driven by one simple thing: instinct. THAT is our program, THAT program tells us what to do and we obey." Daisuke gave a look up as she said all this, why does she care? What did he matter to her for? As he thought this Rouge continued, "And besides, you're a newer XN9 model android, you adapt to your environment and learn from it. Everything we've experienced in these past two and half years has created you. It's given me my only true friend. To tell me any less, that to say my friend is just some life less piece of junk, is just plain insulting to both you and me. Daisuke, wither you like it or not, you're an individual and you choose your own path in life."  
  
Daisuke looked down in shame, for years he only thought of himself as nothing but a fake, a human wannabe. He was always jealous at the thought of humans being humans and he being nothing but an android, yet he never realized that he allowed himself to be jealous. No human ordered him to be envious of them; it was his own choice, he chose to be jealous of them. What a joke, all this time he wanted to be himself, but all this time he was himself.  
  
Despite his lack of an actual mouth or real face, Daisuke had on a forced smile, "Heh. Guess I've been somewhat stupid then? I'm sorry. I had no idea you felt that way Miss Rouge."  
  
Rouge gave the android a hopeless smile, "You know, I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now, but I think now is the best time to say it: Don't call me 'Miss Rouge', we're friends, just call me Rouge."  
  
Daisuke gave a slight chuckle, "Haha, alright then Rouge, sorry about that. All humans make mistakes right?"  
  
The following morning the two got ready for their mission. Daisuke sporting a new coat of wax on his blue chromed outer frame gleamed like a sports car fresh out of the shop. With his weapon, a double bladed beam saber, strapped to the hook on his right thigh, he was ready go. Rouge, sporting her typical black, baggy army pants, red tunic-like top with black straps and lucky red beret was ready to go with a large energy rifle strapped around her left shoulder and her favorite handgun in the holster on her right thigh.  
  
As the two turned off the apartment's lights and gave one final look at their messy home, they both had a sudden feeling as though they wouldn't see this blissful dump for a rather long time. But pushing aside their less than happy thoughts, they forced themselves out the door and once again into Pioneer II's bright lights. The city's large, monolithic buildings soared deep into the never-ending void of space that was visible through the transparent field locking in the oxygen on the ship. The city's shops like a flea to dog, hold no quarter in size to the larger monolithic government buildings but held more colorful neon green and blue lights. Their large signs sported advertisements for entertainment spots such as movies to shops that sold books to tools of the trade for hunters.  
  
Quickly and quietly, the two hunters walked down the bustling streets of the city. The noise of people talking, the hum of motors and engines of passing ships, the whir of small robots floating by on ion engines cluttered their ears. No matter what time it was, this city was always alive with activity. It was as if the city didn't sleep and held an unlimited supply of energy for its citizens. The city officials had made attempts at setting an official time schedule for the citizens to get them back into the routine of twenty four-hour days. However, it failed, most likely due to the length of time it took the officials to place it in effect.  
  
As Rouge and Daisuke continued through the city's streets, they eventually reached the telepad. As they approached the large, warehouse like building it was stored in, the two guards preventing entrance stopped them. Daisuke handed them a data disk that relayed a message from the Hunter's Guild stating them to be on a job and requiring usage of the telepad. The lead guard snorted at the other guard by the control device to deactivate the blast doors protecting the device. Nodding in reply, the other guard pulled on a lever that lifted the large door up and out of the way, allowing view of the transportation device.  
  
The room inside the building was somewhat small, about 10x10 feet all round. In the middle laid a large blue rectangle approximately 6x4 feet. From the basic outline of the rectangle, smaller lines of blue energy resembling its shaped moved upward at a constant, steady pace. Each line was spaced about roughly a foot and a half apart and continuously moved upward towards the ceiling where another blue rectangular existed. After each line would reach this ceiling, it was either replaced by another rectangle outline at the ground rectangle or just reappeared at the bottom. Either way, it was quite an interesting display of light.  
  
Daisuke and Rouge slowly walked into the center of the rectangle in the middle of the room. As they both reached the center, Daisuke flicked his wrist back and opened up a small compartment on his arm with a small monitor and keypad. Quickly and without error, he typed in the coordinates of their destination. Once finished he hit a small little red at the bottom of the keypad that closed the compartment.  
  
"Begin teleport now." said Daisuke with a somewhat sunken and emotionless voice. With this said, the room's blast doors closed once again. When the doors completely rested on the floor, the blue rectangular field of energy began to move quicker, faster and began to shine brighter. Soon, the energy move at such a quick pace that the lines blurred into one bright wall of energy that restricted any vision past it. As the energy levels within the room rose, the molecular composition of the two beings within the room slowly dissimulated. With the molecules separated, they lost their original shape and now were nothing but pieces of matter so tiny and insignificant, that visibility of them was impossible to any without the add of a powerful microscope. And it was then at this point that the intense energy of the telepad transmitted them forward through space and time to another location. 


	3. The One Armed Man

Phantasy Star Online: Blue Requiem By Ryuretsu  
  
Chapter Three: The One Armed Man  
  
Andres Domingo clenched his teeth as the pain shot through his arm. It was a horrendous feeling that felt as though it would never stop till the rest of him was gone. But this was how it always was, and after fifteen minutes the pain would subside.  
  
Exactly fifteen minutes later, just as he predicted, the phantom pains in his missing left arm were gone. As it subsided, he laid back in his office chair and breathed out slowly. It seemed as though whenever something irregular or unfortunate happened, the pain from that incident so long ago from his past returned.  
  
As their molecules reassembled themselves, Rouge and Daisuke slowly regained consciousness. Trips through the telepad always exhausted even the strongest hunter. But tiring as it may be, it was the fastest way to travel short distances.  
  
As the two exhausted hunters walked out of the telepad energy field, two soldiers wearing the typical Pioneer II uniform confronted them. Giving a quick salute they offered to show them the way to their job supervisor. Nodding their heads, the two hunters followed them to their destination.  
  
As the door to the telepad room slid opened and allowed them passage to the hall, the two hunters looked around in curiosity. The hallway was painted a coat of pure white and was endowed with natural lighting from a chain of windows on the walls. Each window, about roughly 4x3 feet, was spaced at least a meter between another and flooded the room with light.  
  
As they walked through the hall following the guards, their feet, in a strange unintentional symphony, made a concerto of tapping noises. This musical display echoed throughout the hall as they passed through till it made its encore as the entered the small elevator at the end. Once on the elevator and once off they entered another hall and continued on their way. However, this floor wasn't so graciously lighted with Ragol's sun but by man made lighting instruments, leaving Daisuke and Rouge to presume they were now below ground.  
  
After what seemed like a lifetime of endless hall wandering, the guards finally lead them to a large office. The guards gave a salute as the doors opened for the two hunters then courteously left them behind as they moved away to continue their normal jobs. With the guards' absence, the two hunters entered the office.  
  
The room was about moderate in size and contained two large bookcases on both sides and a rather large desk in the center with four chairs in front of it. Behind this large desk sat a large man about in his late thirties, or early forties, performing what looked to be tedious paper work. However, with his professional looking long, slicked back, brown hair and a large mustache this man looked like he could be very intimidating with his large frame and tree trunks for biceps.  
  
As the door shut behind the two hunters, the man looked up from his paper work and gave his two visitors a visual inspection. His eyes examining up and down the two hunters, it was quite obvious he was trying to calculate just how strong each one was. As he finished, the man stood up and gave them a satisfied smile as though they just passed some sort of test.  
  
"Greetings my friends, you must be the two new hunters we requested?" he asked with polite smile; Rouge quickly nodded her head.  
  
"Yes, that'd be us. Range-" started Rouge only to be interrupted by the man. "Yes, yes I know, Ranger Rouge and Hunter Daisuke, the guild has told me all about you two B ranks." He said.  
  
"B Ranks.?" Rouge tried to ask but was quickly elbowed by Daisuke so as to remind her that they both were not supposed to actually be here. Rouge quickly shut up and asked the man for a briefing.  
  
The man gave them both a somewhat quizzical look but just shook his head and continued, "My name is Andres Domingo, like you, I was a hunter. It was my recommendation to the Maxtor Organization that we hire people of your caliber to defend this settlement from the wilds of Ragol."  
  
"Was a hunter?" asked Daisuke, "Did you get bored of the hunter life and just want to settle down?"  
  
Domingo frowned and merely raised his left arm, or what was left of it; the elbow down was missing, "It was a long time ago, but after this happened I just couldn't afford to throw my life around anymore."  
  
Daisuke rubbed his head confused, "Why didn't you get a mechanical replacement for your arm? The technology to do so has been around for well over fifty years and it is not a very expensive procedure."  
  
Domingo looked down and gave a sigh, "Why? Well, I was young back then and losing this arm was what finally snapped me out of my dreamland and back into reality. When I was finally dragged back to the nearest town and was about to have the procedure to add a new arm, I just told them no. This was a sign for me to stop while I was ahead, so I decided to leave this sign as is to make sure I never tried to do something stupid. This little stump of an appendage of mine is a lesson to me and other knuckleheaded hunters out there."  
  
Rouge gave him a skeptical look, "If hunters are just knuckleheads, then why'd you recommend for people like us to protect this place?"  
  
Domingo looked up and stared at her, "Because I know just how determined people like you are to get both a piece of the action and the money. People like you will do what's needed to get the job done no matter how much it might endanger your lives."  
  
At this time Domingo pushed his chair back and walked out from behind his desk and to the hunters. When he reached the two of them, he put his arm on Rouge's shoulder and then on Daisuke's.  
  
"When I was a hunter, I met my share of 'bad' people, but out of those bad people I also met good people. Most of those people were hunters just trying to meet ends meet and support those most dear to them." He stopped and looked them both in the eye at this time, "Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all hunters are saints, there are plenty of cold hearted ogres for hunters out there."  
  
He took his hand off of Daisuke's shoulder and took two steps back, "And, whenever I look at you people I always remember that life that I used to have. Even though most of those old memories from being a hunter were not always the most kindred, they're still precious to me. And even though I always remind myself that I should never go back to that life, I can still have my dreams."  
  
Domingo sighed, "Anyway, sorry for rambling like that. I guess I should be more hospitable to you young people and get to the point right?"  
  
Daisuke and Rouge said nothing; Domingo merely gave a quick smile and raised his good arm to the seats in front of his desk encouraging them to take one. The hunters nodded their heads in acknowledgment and quickly took a seat. As they pulled their chairs back and sat down, Domingo went back behind his desk and took back his chair.  
  
"Anyway, let me inform you of our current situation. The Pioneer II's onboard government is currently funding and supplying the Maxtor Organization. And it's with that funding and supplies we've been instructed to construct the second colony to ever be built on Ragol. Thus far, the operation, though a little bumpy, has gone well. Our only major problem is that every few weeks or so, some of Ragol's savage wild life will stumble into our little operation and start going frantic and attacking workers. The soldiers issued to us by the government have indeed done well to push them back out, but their numbers are dwindling and their combat experience is even lower. So in order to protect this settlement we needed another source of protection."  
  
At this point Domingo stopped talking for a second to reach for a glass of water on his desk, which he quickly lifted to his lips and drank thirstily. As he finished he saw the hunters eyeing him intently, "Oh? Are you two thirsty? Just ask if you are and I can see about getting you something?"  
  
Rouge had a sheepish look on her face, she had accidentally skipped breakfast and was parched from her ride on the telepad, and watching Domingo drink his had made it only worse, "If you don't mind." she said quietly.  
  
Domingo gave a chuckle, "Haha, don't worry about it young lady! You're only human and you need to eat and drink at some point in time don't you?" he turned his head to Daisuke, "I don't suppose you want one young man?"  
  
Daisuke rubbed the back of his head, "Even though I can recycle foods and liquids into a usable source of energy, right now my reserves are fine. No thank you sir."  
  
Domingo nodded his head and pushed a button on his desk and politely asked for his intern to have a glass of water delivered to them. With an enthusiastic 'Yes Sir' from a female voice, a small glass of water materialized on the desk. Domingo picked this up in his good hand and handed it to Rouge who thanked him and gulped it down quickly.  
  
Domingo gave a spirited laugh as Rouge drank her water as though it were hard liquor then continued, "Well, as I was saying. When the issue of what we were to do for protection, I quickly recommended the idea of commissioning the Hunter's Guild to give us a few hunters to protect this small settlement. So far, excluding you two, they've sent us about three hunters."  
  
Rouge wrinkled her nose, "Only three? With the price you're offering for this job, I'm surprised there isn't a line for it!"  
  
Domingo gave another laugh, "Haha, yes if only it were so. Because the guild has been instructed to be rather shady about this operation, I'm betting the other hunters don't want to commit to a job being hosted by a group that's being so ambiguous and secretive. But it doesn't matter though, those three hunters have been doing wonders though. Each one of them is worth three to five normal soldiers, not to mention they complain half as much."  
  
"Oh? Who are these hunters?" asked Daisuke curiously.  
  
"After looking through both of your files, there is only one of these hunters that you personally should be familiar with Hunter Daisuke." Responded Domingo.  
  
Daisuke gave him a curious look to which Domingo responded, "I believe you've met Ranger Sheena before? A very nice girl, I can't scarcely believe that she's in this business, but she's apparently very good at what she does."  
  
Daisuke's optics opened wide, "Sheena.? But she's supposed to be. No. That can't be right."  
  
"Don't worry about it too much young man," said Domingo, "just focus on the job at hand, which by the way, shouldn't be too hard. Just make sure we hold out for about three or four more months. By then we should have finished construction of our defense shell. At that time all we'll need are the soldiers from the Pioneer II and even then we'll only need them as a last resort."  
  
Daisuke sighed, "Well if you say so."  
  
Domingo gave a somewhat carefree shrug, then handed both of them two bulky manila envelopes, "Just take a look at the insides of these if you have any questions. They should have your card keys for your rooms as well as instructions and patrol routes for you as well as a detailed map of the settlement that's been finished so far."  
  
The middle aged man stood up once again, and reached out his hand for a handshake from both hunters. The hunter duo stood up and reached their hands out and shook his. Domingo then walked them towards the door and told them that if they had any questions to feel free to come visit him and ask personally.  
  
As Daisuke and Rouge left Andres Domingo's office and began the trek through the maze of hallways to their rooms, they talked.  
  
"So what do you think?" asked Daisuke curiously.  
  
Rouge gave a sigh, "I'm not quite sure what to think. This whole place seems a bit too. too." she stopped, not being able to find the words to describe what she felt.  
  
"Well I'll tell you what I think, and it's about that Domingo character. What's so important about him and just why does he have such an amount of influence that they'd leave him in charge of military affairs down on this settlement?"  
  
Rouge put both of her arms behind her head as she walked trying to stretch, "I dunno, you got me there. And doesn't it seem a little strange how well equipped this place is? Only very high officials on Pioneer II have minor teleportation devices that can just give them minor comforts such as beaming glasses of water. The amount it costs is just outrageous, you're defiantly right about his level of power being a bit suspicious."  
  
As Daisuke began to talk again, Rouge walked up ahead by a few feet and turned around to face him while continuing her walk backwards, "Yes, it all seems a little too well-funded. Anyway, seeing as how we have separate rooms and patrol routes, all I can really say is watch your back; something about this place just bothers me."  
  
Rouge gave a chuckle, "Hey, who do you think you're talking to? If anything were to come up I'd be able to see it coming a mile away. I practically have eyes in the back of my head y'know!" Boasted Rouge.  
  
But just as she said this, another humanoid figure came out from around the corner only to be backed into by Rouge. Rouge, not suspecting something to suddenly prevent her from continuing, jumped towards Daisuke and spun around in an aerial 180 (to face what she just backed into) while making a startled 'eep' noise.  
  
The humanoid, a rather tall African-American with a well-groomed Afro, wore a black version of the traditional Hunter's Guild uniform and sported a stylish pair of dark glasses. Judging from his facial expression, Daisuke guessed he was just as startled by the collision as Rouge was.  
  
"Ah. Excuse me miss." started the hunter in a very surprised voice, it was quite obvious he was very unsure of what to do in this situation.  
  
Rouge, whose heart was pounding from the sudden encounter, just nodded her head. Daisuke, who at this time had both his hands on the young woman's shoulders so as to catch her from colliding into him too, looked down at the red haired huntress, "Eyes in the back of your head, huh?" Rouge glared in reply.  
  
The man, seeing the two section Ids on the two, gave a look of surprise, "Hey, you're the new hunters everyone's been talking about aren't ya?"  
  
"Well, I'm not sure if we're the hunters everyone has been talking about, but we are hunters." Said Daisuke.  
  
The man gave a slight a laugh, "Well, well, no need to be so modest good sir!" he said in a playfully mocking tone, "Anyway, I'm a hunter too! The name's Banrai and I've been here for a good two weeks or so I guess I could show ya the ropes if ya want."  
  
Daisuke, pushing Rouge back to her feet, nodded his head and extended his arm out in a formal handshake. The hunter, Banrai, looked at his hand confused for a second, then grabbed Daisuke's extended arm with his right hand and yanked Daisuke over to him and gave the android a pat on the back with his other arm while curling his right hand's fingers with the android's. Daisuke, somewhat confused by the gesture, uncertainly patted Banrai's back in return. After about two seconds, Banrai broke the embrace and gave him a big, toothy grin.  
  
Daisuke rubbed the back of his metallic head uncertainly as Banrai bent down on one knee and took Rouge's hand and gave it a light and gentle kiss. Rouge gave a girlish giggle, "Why it's the hunter version of Prince Charming" she cooed. Banrai gave a big laugh, "Yeah, some people call me that!" he laughed.  
  
As Banrai stood back up, he quickly asked them their names. Daisuke introduced both himself and Rouge and asked if Banrai knew his way around the settlement yet.  
  
"Oh yeah man, it may seem overwhelming at first with all of these look-alike hallways, but once you get outside to where they're starting construction, it's bit easier to get used to." He said.  
  
"Would you mind showing us where our rooms are then giving us a tour?" asked Rouge. Banrai gave a chuckle and a wholehearted reply of 'Will do!' and quickly led them off to their individual rooms and then later on a tour.  
  
After making a brief stop at both of their rooms, the two hunters went off with Banrai to take a tour of the settlement. It took their group about thirty minutes to finish off the tour of the basement floor where Domingo and their rooms lay. Once they finished that floor they took the elevator up and visited the ground floor. Banrai showed them the basic areas of the settlement that were for the workers and personal only, which wasn't much, mainly just a lounge/café area and a private restroom shut off from the colonists, who had actually already begun to start new lives down on the surface.  
  
Once their tour of the facility, as Banrai called it, was finished they went over to the colonists region of the settlement. The colonists region of the settlement was heads and tails different from the settlement's 'facility'. Rather than being surrounded by cold steel as it was for the personal and all those above in the Pioneer II, they lived in quiet little domes out in the open air of the planet. Though they were not however just out in the open, about a mile away from the last dome house, a ring like barrier was being constructed around the colonists, caging them in with the facility.  
  
"That metal ring they've started construction on now is the defense shell. Basically, its just a giant shield generator that will create a large energy shield around the whole settlement that should protect it from the wild little beasties of this planet." Explained Banrai as they passed by.  
  
"But won't that block out the sun?" Rouge asked concerned, Banrai merely smiled at her. "Nah, the shield is transparent, you can see right through it, but uh. Don't try touching it. Anything that comes in contact with it will become a nice toasty barbecue wing."  
  
"I. I'll keep that in mind." Said Daisuke, which just brought a laugh to Banrai. This hunter, Banrai, seemed to always be in good spirits. Even at the most minor things he would give out a big belly laugh and make it all the funnier.  
  
"Well anyway, that's about it for the tour." Stated Banrai. "But y'know, I don't know 'bout you guys but I'm starving. Wanna grab some grub?"  
  
At the mere mention of food, Rouge's stomach rolled over at least twice making a gurgling noise. Banrai heard this and let out another laugh, "Well then, I guess we should go get this little lady something to eat!"  
  
Rouge gave an embarrassed look to Daisuke who merely gave her an android version of a smile. She sighed and followed after Banrai who already started walking off to the café back at the facility.  
  
The doors to the café slide open with a whoosh of cold, air- conditioned air. After being in the hot outdoors of Ragol, the rush of cold felt good on Rouge's face and she quickly walked in following Banrai and followed by Daisuke.  
  
"So is there any place you want to sit?" asked Banrai.  
  
Rouge looked around and saw a booth by a window and pointed towards it, "Hey, that spot over there looks pretty nice." She said quickly  
  
"Alrighty then, shall we?" asked Banrai with a quick 'after you' hand motion towards the booth.  
  
But just as the group was about to take their place at the booth and prepare their order, a feminine yet mechanical voice called out to them.  
  
"Hey! Hey! Die-skay!" the voice called out towards Daisuke.  
  
Daisuke quickly whirled around on his heel and looked behind him to see a female android running up to him. The android, judging by her Redria Section ID and strong shoulders was probably a ranger class hunter. The android was about Rouge's height and had a pale set of blue gray skin. This exterior though was designed as though her smooth metallic skin was actually covered beneath a short-skirted dress. Her metallic skin of bluish gray went well with her dark blue or navy blue 'dress'. The face of the android had two, dark blue optics that glowed dimly in the lighting of the room.  
  
"Die-skay! It's been so long!" exclaimed the android.  
  
Daisuke said nothing and just stood there and stared at the female android in disbelief, Rouge and Banrai looked at him strangely. The female android cocked her head as if a different angle of him would show something to her that she hadn't noticed before.  
  
"You ok Die-skay?" she said in a childish voice, extending the syllables of his name again. "You do remember me right, Die-skay?"  
  
Daisuke's optics veered down in what we would be the equivalent of a face of anger, "Yes. How could I forget someone like you Sheena?" he asked angrily.  
  
Sheena's optics flared in surprise, "Oh Die-skay, don't tell me you're STILL angry about that! It's your own fault for being such a wet blanket and not wanting to go with the crowd." She said in her childish voice.  
  
It seemed to all those around them that the android, Sheena, was just playfully teasing him, but Daisuke seemed to take it very personally. "Sheena, after the stunt you pulled I never wanted to see you again!" All the while, Daisuke's voice began to rise angrily.  
  
Sheena formed a fake looking, childish frown on her face, "Oh don't be that way Die-skay! I only wanted to have a little fun!" she pleaded with him.  
  
By this time, Daisuke seemed to be beginning to lose his temper. Grabbing her by her throat with one hand and lifting her two feet into the air, he raised his other fist at her. "A little fun!? How is nearly killing three people fun!? That business was nothing but trouble from the start, yet you kept going with it! You didn't even care when Ashrem was killed! If you want to have fun, then don't do it at the cost of other people's lives!"  
  
Sheena wriggled around in Daisuke's killer choke grip while Banrai and Rouge tugged and pleaded with him to let her down. Sheena, being an android and not needed air (so she spoke normally), continued to talk to Daisuke, aggravating him even more so, "Oh give it up Die-skay! I mean you are SUCH a scream, nobody liked Ashrem, it's better he's dead anyway!"  
  
If possible, Daisuke's optics angled downward even more so, looking even angrier than before, "Why you-!" at this point the blue chrome android was about to launch his fist as hard and as fast as he could into Sheena's face when a strange alarm went off. Startled by the alarm, Daisuke quickly released Sheena from the choke grip and looked around.  
  
"Hey, Banrai!? What is this?" asked a confused and startled Rouge.  
  
Banrai grimaced and started to run off towards the door, "Monster raid! Get your weapons ready and run towards the defense shell I showed you before! If you're not quick about, the wild life might cause serious damage to both the settlement and it's colonist!"  
  
Daisuke cursed quietly then glared at Sheena, "We'll finish this later!" he said as he ran off after Banrai. Sheena merely smirked at him as she followed him with her cold, mechanical eyes. Once the doors shut after Daisuke, she turned towards Rouge and examined her.  
  
"So are you his girlfriend or something?" she asked Rouge coldly.  
  
Rouge's cheeks turned redder than her hair, "What are you talking about!? Hey! Shouldn't you be going to the disturbance!?" She shot, only to be shrugged off by Sheena's shoulders, a quite obvious sign she didn't care. Frustrated, Rouge grabbed the android's wrist and ran out through the door with her, chasing after Banrai and Daisuke. 


End file.
